Michelle Wie Penalty Video?

Michelle Wie has shown she's fantastic on the golf course. But when it comes to the golf rule book, she may need a bit more practice. She was penalized again.

During her Sunday round at the Kia Classic, Michelle Wie found herself with a precarious lie near in water on the 11th hole. After unsuccessfully trying to get the ball out of the hazard, Michelle Wie grounded her wedge, landing her a 2-stroke penalty under Rule 13-4.

Michelle Wie claimed she was using the club to keep her balance and had an animated conversation with LPGA rules official Doug Brecht after learning of the penalty.

I got a look at the video replay of the incident on the Golf Channel and there seems little doubt that LPGA official Doug Brecht made the correct decision that Wie did indeed ground her ground within the margins of the hazard and had to take a two-stroke penalty. So the penalty is right.

I want to show the video of Michelle Wie's penalty to my dad, does anyone know where can I find the penalty video on the web?

Michelle Wie makes a good point against the penalty that the Rules officials never asked her why she grounded the club, but officials can't be expected to be everywhere all the time. Reviewing the video replay, there is no doubt that the ruling was correctly made and enforced.

Without the penalty, she would have tied for second so the ruling cost her $90,000 in prize money.
This latest penalty is Michelle Wie's third serious rules breach since she turned pro in October 2005.

We all need to remember that just because your club doesn't get wet doesn't mean that you have avoided a penalty, which still applies if the grounding occurs within the area marked as a hazard.

Michelle Wie has many talents, but a deft touch when it comes to the Rules of Golf is not one of them.
The bad news for Michelle Wie is that the officials didn't give her the benefit of the doubt. The loss (or rather than addition) of two shots cost her a share of second place and $90,000 in prize money.

It’s unlikely Michelle Wie was testing the hitting surface when she grounded her club. But was she trying to maintain her balance, as she claimed later when LPGA rules official Doug Brecht explained the penalty to her.
“It was a violation of the rules of golf and she is to be penalized two shots in this instance,” Brecht told the Golf Channel.

Michelle Wie argued otherwise.

“This is not right,” Michelle Wie complained to Brecht on the course.

After the round, Wie said she knew she had grounded the club but did so stay upright.

“I knew I grounded the club and I asked for a ruling,” Wie told Golf Channel afterward. “My right foot was in mud and I felt like I was off-balance....I knew I was off-balance.”

The penalty video of Michelle Wie is not in youtube yet, you can watch it here for now.

Only she knows if she was afraid of losing her balance and if you look at the video then she would naturally have felt unsteady trying to make this shot out of the water with her right leg in the water and her left leg on the bank. After making the shot, her right arm stretches out and she instinctively bends her ankle and touches the ground with her club in order to steady herself. It is true that she did not look like falling but it is very possible that she did use the club to keep her balance.......only she knows the truth and if the charming Paula Creamer had been in this situation and said the same thing then the officials would have believed her and no penalty would have been given.

The officials got this completely wrong because by not believing Wie's version of the situation then they are really saying that she is telling lies without any proof apart from a video which is open to interpretation....some say she does not look off balance whilst others say that it is possible. Michelle Wie should have been given the benefit of any doubt and she will get sympathy from neutrals regarding this matter.